Pale Moon forum

Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Thu, 23 Aug 2018, 20:57

by benherrmann

Hello all...

I've been using the Internet Download Manager (IDA) add-on on all of my Firefox variants for years now because it is one of the fastest and most convenient download managers on the market. It always functioned flawlessly with Pale Moon - but as of Version 28 - it no longer functions.

Their response was that Pale Moon tends to change things constantly and they cannot make adjustments to their software - that it would have to be the Pale Moon folks that initiates this.

Anyway, I would like to submit IDA as one of the choice add-ons that Pale Moon should accept and approve. What can be done to make this add-on function with the latest version of Pale Moon.

Thanks,

Ben Herrmann

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Thu, 23 Aug 2018, 21:18

by back2themoon

Hello! This has been discussed before. IDM (not IDA btw) is closed, paid and licensed software and iirc the PM team couldn't modify it at will even if they wanted to. If anything, IDM should be the ones to get things going for a solution. We are paying them for their software to work for us (I have anyway), not the free, open-source Pale Moon to make IDM or any of the countless extensions work.

It must be said that the "Pale Moon tends to change things constantly" phrase is downright absurd (and reveals ignorance) and honestly, communication with IDM has always been... weird. They seem to be one of those "take it or leave it" software teams (guess what, had no choice but to leave it).

In fact, I'm not even sure IDM has ever done anything at all for Pale Moon, or their extension just randomly happened to work at times due to the Firefox closeness.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Fri, 24 Aug 2018, 09:26

by back2themoon

Used Flashgot in the past and it worked fine. Not sure about now. However, the point of having a fully working IDM extension is for its ability to capture video/audio (YouTube included) and integrate with the browser. FlashGot won't be needed at all.

Failing that, IDM+Flashgot will mostly be used for IDM's download managing capabilities (not video grabbing, except for what Flashgot supports and a reduced number of websites IDM can grab without the extension) in which case, any other free download manager can easily replace IDM (there are some good ones out there). No need to pay for something that works at 20% capacity.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sun, 26 Aug 2018, 01:24

by hujan86

benherrmann wrote:Their response was that Pale Moon tends to change things constantly and they cannot make adjustments to their software - that it would have to be the Pale Moon folks that initiates this.

Sounds like you can finally stop paying for IDM. I recalled IDM's license key require renewal annually, way back when IDM is version 5.XX. If the dev had been truly honest to you, they would have wrote "It doesn't make any business sense to support a niche product that is only used by less than 0.1% of the population" instead of blaming Pale Moon. That's the response I got.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sun, 26 Aug 2018, 02:18

by Trapper852

Well, my experience with IDM's silly replies has been consistent, if nothing else.

I've sent them countless emails in the past, asking (begging) for compatibility for both PM v26 & PM 27. Their responses were always the same... we won't do it, we can't do it, it's not their responsibility & I should talk to the PM devs (how silly is that one ??!!), etc. etc.. Then magically, a compatible xpi for pale moon just appears a month or so later in the installation folder after an upgrade. The PM v27 compatible xpi wasn't even documented on their site, I just found it because I've trained myself to periodically check the install folder for a new, updated xpi to use.

They make a good product, but have a very weird way of doing business. So, from past experience, I presume the same will happen for v28 compatibility. It's just a matter of being patient (and bombarding them with email requests).

Also, I've never paid a yearly licensing fee. I bought my license about a 100 years ago & it just keeps working.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sun, 26 Aug 2018, 20:56

by benherrmann

Wow - thanks for all your replies. Yes, that's exactly what the IDM support folks wrote me. After filling out a support request online, I get an email with the following statement:

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sun, 26 Aug 2018, 21:15

by Night Wing

The "Pale Moon changes things constantly" is nothing but an excuse for lazy people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Firefox change every 6 weeks for their newest update and I think Chrome is on a similar schedule.

Basically, the people at IDM only want to support the "big browsers" which are: Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Firefox, Edge and Safari. This is the short of it.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 27 Aug 2018, 00:23

by hujan86

Night Wing wrote:The "Pale Moon changes things constantly" is nothing but an excuse for lazy people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Firefox change every 6 weeks for their newest update and I think Chrome is on a similar schedule.

A good response to use, should anyone dare to write back to IDM.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sat, 01 Sep 2018, 19:41

by Trapper852

OK, I'm really confused now.

IDM has recently added an installation guide for Pale Moon 28 in the support section of their website, claiming that Pale Moon v28 IS compatible with the idmmzcc2.xpi file.

You have PaleMoon version 28 or above

This version of PaleMoon supports our extension for FireFox, you can install it manually.

I haven't installed v28 yet... I'm ironing out my kinks first with PM 28 portable. So I tried installing in my portable version with all 3 xpi files, all 3 attempts failed (not compatible).

Can someone who has 28 try to install IDM integration & report back? Maybe IDM has just recently changed the xpi files to make one of them PM compatible? Or maybe it just won't work properly on a portable version? Or maybe this is just more silliness on IDM's part (most likely scenario).

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sun, 02 Sep 2018, 01:27

by hujan86

Trapper852 wrote:OK, I'm really confused now. Can someone who has 28 try to install IDM integration & report back? Maybe IDM has just recently changed the xpi files to make one of them PM compatible? Or maybe it just won't work properly on a portable version? Or maybe this is just more silliness on IDM's part (most likely scenario).

The screenshots showed the Firefox browser, not Pale Moon. And the installer remains the same version as before (6.31 Build 3). Other than that new FAQ, I don't think the dev did anything, not even a proper testing.

I'll also note that in %APPDATA%/Roaming/IDM/ there is a directory, idmmzcc5, which looks to be a 7.3.110 of "Internet Download Manager integration module for Mozilla".I have no idea about that, or why its there, or ?I'll note that its' install.rdf specifically mentions Pale Moon, but it also needs modification to install. And it includes binary components, not found in the .xpi version.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sat, 08 Sep 2018, 02:34

by Trapper852

So... here's my back & forth conversation with the IDM devs, when I requested v28 compatibility.

HiWould you please upgrade support for Pale Moon 28.Your installation guide for Pale Moon 28 in the support section of your website claims that Pale Moon v28 is compatible with the idmmzcc2.xpi file, but it's not. That .xpi file is 6.31 build 3, which was released Jul 09, 2018, and isn't compatible.Thank you

And their reply to me was....

Hello,

You need to contact Pale Moon developers. They are constantly changing something. We cannot force them to load our add-on.

Best regards,

Dave SaegerIDM SupportTonec Inc

To which I responded...

What kind of a non answer is that ??!! That is a response I might expect from a child, not a professional software developer.

1) It's been almost 2 years now since Pale Moon has had a major version upgrade (v27-->v28) so they are not "constantly changing something" as you claim. You must be confusing your browsers with that statement: it's Firefox & Chrome that are "constantly changing something"...every 6 weeks, to be precise.

2) Why do I need to contact Pale Moon developers? What would that accomplish besides nothing? Browsers aren't written to accommodate extension compatibility. It's the other way around. It's the responsibility of the extension's authors (you) to ensure the extension is compatible with the browser, especially when said extension is a commercial product that is advertised as being compatible with almost every browser in existence, and that I'm paying you for.

3) "We cannot force them to load our add-on" What does that even mean??... that statement is totally devoid of logic. Browser developers don't load add-ons (or extensions, to be more precise)... that's what the end user does (me). Obviously though, it's not possible when said extension isn't compatible.

Can we maybe start over again with a response that makes sense?

Thank you

And their final response to me was...

Nothing. Nothing but crickets. They are totally ignoring any other emails I sent them.

I have to say, those are a strange bunch of people running the IDM ship. This was my exact same experience when I requested Pale Moon compatibility for v26 & v27. Both of those times though, a compatible xpi just magically appeared after a month or two, so who knows what's going to happen this time around.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Sat, 08 Sep 2018, 05:31

by Thehandyman1957

Yea, that's why I gave up on them years ago. Instead, I use Internet Download Accelerator Prowith FlashGot 1.5.6.14. I will admit though, I really liked IDM better.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 10 Sep 2018, 02:12

by Trapper852

Thehandyman1957 wrote:Yea, that's why I gave up on them years ago. Instead, I use Internet Download Accelerator Prowith FlashGot 1.5.6.14. I will admit though, I really liked IDM better.

I wasn't familiar with Internet Download Accelerator, so I took a look at it. It's not bad, has a lot of similarities to IDM, but also has some downsides too. It's certainly better than a lot of the others I've looked at (both free & paid). I might eventually go with this one... thanks for the tip.

It's just frustrating though, having to hobble & string a bunch of stuff together, just to get something somewhat close to what IDM delivered in one package... & it's still deficient in some areas.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 10 Sep 2018, 02:24

by Thehandyman1957

Trapper852 wrote:It's just frustrating though, having to hobble & string a bunch of stuff together, just to get something somewhat close to what IDM delivered in one package... & it's still deficient in some areas.

I feel ya, but after years of not using it, I have been ok without it. Just takes a bit of first learning and then it's smooth sailing from there.

If you decide to use it and have any questions, let me know.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 10 Sep 2018, 10:18

by back2themoon

Does Internet Download Accelerator also use an extension? Is it working and updated with Pale Moon?

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 10 Sep 2018, 14:18

by back2themoon

Well, I tried and failed. There's only one version here which is obviously not compatible. The program itself (v.6.16) only includes the toolbar (which installs ok but is not enough) and the above WebExtension. They also suggest using FlashGot but that's old and I guess not really the best choice to grab current videos.

Re: Request to look into Internet Download Manager add-on

Posted: Mon, 10 Sep 2018, 14:59

by fillerup

on linux which doesn't have IDM, i make do with DownThemAll which comes the closest in all-around functionality to IDM